Explosion at Alawite mosque in Syria's Homs kills eight

DAMASCUS, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Eight people were killed in an explosion at a mosque of the Alawite minority sect in the Syrian city of Homs on Friday, Syrian state news agency SANA said.

An ultra-conservative Sunni Muslim Syrian group known as Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah said on its Telegram channels that it carried out the attack. The group previously claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a Damascus church in June that killed 20 people.

SANA cited Syrian Health Ministry official Najib al-Naasan as saying 18 others were wounded and that the figures were not final, indicating they could rise.

The city's press office said an explosive device had detonated inside the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib mosque and that security forces had cordoned off the area.

Local official Issam Naameh told Reuters the blast occurred during Friday noon prayers.

The Supreme Alawite Islamic Council, a body that says it represents Alawites in Syria and abroad, condemned what it called a systematic campaign of killings, forced displacement, detentions and incitement against Alawites for more than a year. It accused the Damascus authorities of responsibility, and said continued attacks risk driving the country toward collapse.

Syria's Foreign Ministry condemned the blast as a "terrorist crime". Regional countries including Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Qatar also condemned the attack.

Syrian state media SANA published footage of rescuers and security forces examining debris splayed across the mosque's green carpet.

Syria has been rocked by several episodes of sectarian violence since longtime leader Bashar al-Assad, an Alawite, was ousted by a rebel offensive last year and replaced by a government led by members of the Sunni Muslim majority.

Earlier this month, two American soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed in central Syria by an attacker described by the authorities as a suspected member of the Islamic State, a violent Sunni Muslim group.

(Reporting by Khalil Ashawi, Firas Makdesi, Kinda Makieh, Feras Dalatey, and Ahmed Elimam in Dubai; Writing by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Peter Graff)